General Election Straw Poll at USF on Oct. 17

TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 14, 2016)– With Election Day just weeks away, University of South Florida students will conduct a straw poll from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17. Participants will have the opportunity to indicate their choices for U.S. president, U.S. senate and three amendments to the Florida Constitution on this year’s ballot. Voters will also note which issue is the most important to them in selecting a candidate and which type of media – print, TV, radio or social – they get their news from.

USF students, faculty and staff can participate in the straw poll at one of the five polling locations: Marshall Student Center, USF Library, Cooper Hall, Muma College of Business and the Campus Recreation Center.

Distinguished University Professor Susan MacManus, a nationally-recognized political scientist, worked with USF students to develop the mock ballot and polling process. Results will be tabulated and released Monday evening.

In the 2012 USF straw poll, MacManus and her students collected more than 1,600 ballots.

The straw poll is a joint effort by national political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha, the Honors College and USF Student Government.

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is a Top 25 research university among public institutions nationwide in total research expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving over 48,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.